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Jenova Dusklyre
"I'm leaving love in the past, with all the shadows that it cast". ''- Jenova Dusklyre'' Jenova Dusklyre is a Blood Knight of Silvermoon City. Widowed and without child, she is a harsh and bitter woman who pursues her military career with a single-minded comittment and great tenacity. Born in Silvermoon, with a Silver Spoon Jenova Dusklyre (née Emberhawk) was born into a wealthy and influential family of High Elven magisters. The sole child of Tarhiel and Enathrae Emberhawk, Jenova's parents placed high value on their daughter's incipient beauty and intended for her to be married into a house of similar stature to their own. Being the only child of such strict yet doting parents, Jenova felt the weight of her family's name and status from an early age; She suffered a crisis of gender identity in her youth, trying to live up to everything that was expected not only of a daughter, but of a son as well. She learned to care for the household, took up 'feminine' pursuits such as weaving from her mother and aunt, but also took great joy in rushing to the stables to care for horses, climbing up the tallest trees in nearby Eversong Woods, and learning to nock and shoot an arrow. Jenova discovered in herself a proclivity toward more 'tomboyish' interests and the pursuit of them came to dominate her waking thoughts. She eagerly sought out more militaristic activities, growing more and more restless with her mother and aunt's contrived hobbies. Jenova was envious of the women rangers who walked with pride and self-assuredness in the city squares. In her daydreams she walked amongst them, fighting in great wars to protect her home, her family, and her lands. She was unable to think of anything else. Concerned for his daughter's boredom, Tarhiel immediately employed a Silvermoon ranger to give Jenova private tutelage on their estate. Though he spared no expense in providing her with a decorated and skilful tutor, Tarhiel simply sought to indulge what he believed to be ephemeral, chimerical desires that would not obstruct Jenova from an arranged marriage and future as a Magistrix. Child's Play Tarhiel employed Vettias Darklyre as his daughter's tutor in all things combative and tactical. A renowned Silvermoon Ranger, he intitially balked at the idea of becoming a paid-for servant to the offspring of wealthy nobility, but Tarhiel was implacable and countered every objection with an even greater offer of money. Eventually his persistence paid off; Unable to refuse such a large amount of money from an increasingly terse Magister, Vettias finally acquiesced. The ranger wasn't the least bit interested in training anyone, let alone the daughter of a man who let his wealth intimidate people. He readily assumed Jenova to be a spoiled brat void of discipline and comittment. He was stunned to discover that she was the polar opposite of her father: sharp, quiet, and obedient. He immediately took it upon himself to develop Jenova's burgeoining independence and satisfy her need to distance herself intellectually and ideolgically from her parents. He inculcated her with a sense of duty to their homeland and the principles of the Farstriders, and never offered her platitudes or short cuts. Jenova grasped Vettias' techniques quickly and eagerly, often pushing him with many questions and insisting on further instruction. Forbidden Love Many years came to pass, and Jenova still retained her tutor. She would soon come of age, and though she could truly learn no more from Vettias, he has become her closest companion and the two were inseperable. While Vettias was several decades older than his young charge, he found himself at ease around her, almost quixotic and carefree. He began to see her in a different light; the young girl he taught to properly build a recurve bow was now a woman; beautiful and strong. Jenova too had developed feelings for Vettias, seeing him no longer as her teacher but as her true love. Intimate time together came under the guise of 'training' time, and Jenova's parents were none the wiser. Their secret, however, was not to be kept forever. Jenova had made her decision: her life was her own, and she had no place as a Magistrix, nor as her father's chattle to be married off as he saw fit. As soon as she was old enough to enlist, she would become a Farstrider. And she would marry, also: but she would marry for love. A Father's Condemnation Jenova's parents did not take kindly to the news that their daughter would become a Ranger. When Jenova boldly announced that she had celebrated her coming-of-age by enlisting with the Farstriders, Tarhiel flew into a rage and threatened to confine her to the Estate until her 'hysterical notion' had left her. The final blow was delivered when Vettias came to break their other news: that he and Jenova were now wed and that they both desired for her to leave the Estate. Tarhiel and Enathrae were inconsolable. For marrying beneath her stature, he denounced her actions as dishonorable and shameful. Jenova was banished from the family home and for her insolence, her father legally removed her from the family. Jenova would never speak to her mother or father ever again. The Second War Jenova and Vettias fought side by side for the first time when the Old Horde, flanked by scorned Amani trolls, attacked their homeland. Villages in Eversong Woods were burned and pillaged before the Farstriders could cut down the encroaching invaders. The situation looked dire for the High Elves; it was only after the forces of Lordaeron belatedly sent in reinforcements that Silvermoon was spared. http://www.wowwiki.com/Quel%27thalas#The_Second_War The end of the war saw the High Elves sever their ties to the rest of the Eastern Kingdoms, centering their energies on rebuilding and rendering Quel'thalas a sacrosanct kingdom. Jenova saw this as a consequence of a poorly concieved 'alliance' between the High Elves and the Humans, but her confidence in the army she had pledged to serve for life was also deeply shaken. The Farstriders had failed to protect the outlaying villages of Eversong Woods. Disullusioned and angry, Jenova threatened to withdraw her support from the Farstriders, but was persuaded to remain loyal by her husband. Vettias, in an effort to placate his wife, joked that should the ranger army fail to protect their homeland once more, he himself would start a new kingdom for Jenova to rule over. The joke was shared by them for many years and reiterated after every skirmish with encroaching Amani trolls. Despite her husband's reassurances, Jenova still harbored feelings of doubt about the ability of the High Elves to defend Quel'thalas. Often she wondered: was Silvermoon City really so inviolable? Tragedy in the Third War Jenova would once again fight by her husband's side when Arthas Menethil's Scourge army rampaged through the forests of Quel'thalas. The Rangers were vastly outnumbered and reinforcements from outside were not forthcoming, nor were reinforcements from within Silvermoon city itself. The denizens of Silvermoon were struck unawares of the attack; Arthas prevented word from reaching the Capital by slaying all of the runners sent by Sylvannas Windrunner. Choked off from reinforcements, Jenova and Vettias stood their ground in what is now known as the 'Ghostlands'. A wife's mercy As the scourge numbers overwhelmed them, the small Ranger outfit prepared to fall back to the second of Quel'thalas' inner gates. Jenova and Vettias were not able to meet the rest of their party, and opted to take a different route in the hopes of regrouping. It was at this point that Vettias was struck with a mortal blow by a mindless, marauding undead. Holding her beloved husband in her arms, she wept bitterly as he exhaled his last few breaths and agreed to his dying wish: to prevent his reanimation and servitude to the Scourge, he demanded that she decapitate his body. Any necromancer would find the remains unsalvageable, and spare Vettias the agony of becoming a mindless slave. Jenova kissed him goodbye tenderly, and cried out in anguish as she severed his head quickly from his body. Grief-stricken and in shock, she lay hidden in a crumbling structure for several days until regaining enough strength to walk and wield her weapon. Stained in the blood of her own husband, she fought through the ash and debris of the forests for a day and a half to find her city in ruin, her people almost destroyed. In search of a new calling A ranger no more With her husband and Ranger-General dead and her homeland in ruins, Jenova threw down her quiver and renounced her allegiance to the Farstriders. The army had failed to protect her homeland once more, but this time with even more devastating consequences; Many children were orphaned, many structures destroyed, entire family names erased and thousands of hungry, withdrawn and desperate refugees began squatting and looting in the streets of Silvermoon city. A new leader emerged amongst the remaining High Elves: Anasterian's own son Kael'thas, who was absent when the tragedy struck, came to establish himself as Prince and savior of those who would become "The Sin'dorei". Jenova pledged her allegiance to her new prince, but her desire for vengence and freedom from the impotence of her former commanders left her empty, cold, and withered inside. An oath of blood It was during the restoration of Silvermoon city that Jenova found her calling; She met Lady Liadrin, a former priestess of the Light, and was swayed by her vicious public speeches decrying the Light and the Human priests and paladins who worshiped it. The Lady had amassed an ever-growing order, and they called themselves 'Blood Knights'. Harnessing the powers of a captive Naaru named M'uru, Liadrin had become a staunch supporter of a solution to magic addiction that promised not only to satiate the need but also to empower those who would drain the Naaru's energies. Jenova was intrigued and enlisted immediately in the order. Upon her initiation she was met with many challenges to her preconceived notions of battle. She found her previous training almost lacking in comparison to the bold and forceful tactics of the Blood Knights; rather than weaving into shadow and striking from the distance, the Knights embraced heavy melee combat and embraced magic not unlike the Magisters. Desperate to keep up, Jenova began tapping and draining from the Naaru over-zealously. She gained remarkable power and despite her diminutive frame could now wield heavier armor and weaponry than before. By the time she was granted rank of Knight, her personality had been forever changed: cantankerous, proud, irritable, and lusting for more and more power. Redemption of the fallen After the fall of Kil'jaeden and the destruction of the corrupted M'uru, the Blood Knights took a different ideological path, yet Jenova remains conflicted about her role in these events. Rejoicing at the restored Sunwell, yet frustrated by withdrawal from the stolen Naaru's energies, she became one of Liadrin's silent detractors, thinking her leader had gone soft and withered from the conflict. Though Jenova remains a Blood Knight in title, rank and affiliation, her allegiances may wander elsewhere. When the next great promise of redemption for the Sin'Dorei starts recruiting, Jenova will likely be there, and likely seeking to make both herself and her fellow Sin'Dorei impervious to destruction forever. Holding on to grudges While the Sin'dorei find themselves allied with the Horde races, Jenova has no love for any of them and grudgingly accepts them as allies for the time being. Her dislike for the Orcs, Trolls, and Forsaken is overshadowed only by her intense hatred for the Human race, and she would see them wiped off the face of Azeroth if she had her way. This diminutive woman is lean, with very pale skin that bears very few marks or blemishes. Her cheekbones are set high on an angular face which displays no lines from smiles or laughter. Her hair is a dull platinum blonde, and eyes are a ruddy green-grey. She can easily be recognized by her deep, harsh voice and a permanently etched scowl on her face. She wears her Blood Knight's raiment with great pride; Her armor is always immaculately polished and only deep inspection reveals the notches and dents of battle. She carries a large, almost unwieldy but immaculate blade on her back and a shorter blade sheathed on her hip. Category:Blood Elf Category:Horde Paladin Category:Blood Knight